Cats Without Claws
Cats Without Claws is the twelfth album released by Donna Summer. Summer had achieved monumental fame during the disco era of the 1970s, and in 1980 was signed to Geffen Records. She had had some degree of success with them, though her previous album had been released on another label.
This album peaked at No. 40 on Billboard's album chart and sold 300,000 copies in the United States.
That previous album, She Works Hard for the Money, had been her most successful since the disco era, and as a result, its producer Michael Omartian was asked to produce the new album as well. Again the majority of tracks were written by Summer and Omartian, though a couple of other writers were credited including Summer's husband Bruce Sudano. As with the previous album, Cats Without Claws was pop/dance oriented but included soulful ballads. The album also contained a cover of "There Goes My Baby", originally made popular by The Drifters, which became the first single. Although Summer requested "Oh Billy Please" as the first single, again Geffen and his executives rejected her request. A gospel song written by Reba Rambo-McGuire and Dony McGuire entitled "Forgive Me" would win Summer a Grammy award for Best Inspirational Performance.[6][7]
Cats Without Claws produced three singles: "There Goes My Baby", "Supernatural Love" (also released as a 12" Single) and "Eyes", "There Goes My Baby" reached #21 on the pop chart. Further 12" dance remixes included "Eyes" and "I'm Free".
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Michael Omartian and Donna Summer; except where indicated.
| 6. |
"Oh Billy Please" | |
4:55 |
| 7. |
"Eyes" | |
4:45 |
| 8. |
"Maybe It's Over" | Summer |
4:43 |
| 9. |
"I'm Free" | Omartian, Sudano, Summer |
4:29 |
| 10. |
"Forgive Me" | Dony McGuire, Reba Rambo |
4:30 |
| 11. |
"Face the Music" | Sudano, Summer |
4:14 |
| 12. |
"Eyes" (Jellybean 7" Remix Edit[9]) | |
3:46 |
| 13. |
"Supernatural Love" (Extended Dance Remix) | Omartian, Sudano, Summer |
6:12 |
| 14. |
"Eyes" (Extended Mix) | |
6:58 |
| 15. |
"I'm Free" (Extended Mix) | Omartian, Sudano, Summer |
6:18 |
Personnel
- Donna Summer – vocals, composer
- Michael Omartian – composer, producer, keyboards, additional drums & percussion
- Bruce Sudano – composer
- Michael Baird – drums
- Nathan East – bass
- Michael Landau – guitars
- Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitars
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Gary Herbig – sax solos
- Erich Bulling – synthesizer programming
- Ronnie Puccinelli – production coordinator
- Background vocals – Dara Bernard, Mary Ellen Bernard, Gene Van Buren, Cydney Davis, Siedah Garrett, Kahliq Glover, Portia Griffin, Susannah Melvoin, Bruce Sudano, Charles Vassy, Terry Williams
- Management – Susan Munao Management Co. Inc.
- Photography – Harry Langdon
- LP Art Direction – Chris Whorf for Art Hotel
- Design – Jeffrey Fey for Art Hotel
Production
- Produced and arranged by Michael Omartian
- Engineered and mixed by John Guess. "It's Not The Way," "Suzanna" and "Oh Billy Please" mixed by Juergen Koppers
- 2nd engineers: Larry Fergusson, Dave Ahlert, Tom Fouce, Ross Palone
- Recorded at Lion Share Studios, Los Angeles; United Western Studios, Hollywood; Rhema Studio, Los Angeles
- LP mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood
Charts
- Album
| Year |
Chart |
Position |
|---|
| 1984 |
UK Album chart |
69 |
| Norway |
15 |
| US Album chart |
40 |
| Sweden |
10 |
- Single
| Year |
Single |
Chart |
Position |
|---|
| 1984 |
"There Goes My Baby" |
USA Billboard Hot 100 |
21 |
| "Supernatural Love" |
USA Billboard Hot 100 |
75 |
References
